Emulator Testing Vs. Real Device Testing

Mobile world and applications developed are forced by the limitations viz. limitation of the device, processing power, memory, and bandwidth.
To handle the device challenge you have two options
1) You can test using real devices.
2) You can use using emulated devices.
Real devices have the advantage of having all the limitations and quirks in the actual client hardware and firmware combination in the hands of your target consumers but majority of mobile testing is done on emulators. Reason being testing being real devices is incredibly expensive
First they are expensive to buy and forget about the advertised price, for those are the operator subsidized prices that come only with a contract that has its own cost implications. You might be able to get a manufacturer or network operator to loan you device for testing, but you need to join waiting list and convince manufacturer or network operator that you should be priority. Airtime and subscription cost also need to be paid AND FINALLY testing with real device is labor intensive and the availability and cost of labor is pretty high.
But there is another aspect of testing with real device that you need to consider. Real handset is not designed with testing in mind. The limited processing power and storage of the handset does not allow on board diagnostic software to be loaded so they lack instrumentation. With real devices you will not be able to record the protocols going back and forth between device and your application and this will limit the ability to isolate problem and make corrections.
So emulators are forced to be a part of mobile application testing.